Summertime Matchmaker
by ScarletKestrel
Summary: Lucy, Levy, and Juvia are in for an interesting summer when Lisanna decides to play matchmaker. -Modern AU- NaLu, GaLe, and Gruvia
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

 **Romance/Humor**

 **NaLu, GaLe, Gruvia pairings**

 **This is my first ever fan fiction so I hope you enjoy it! :)**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.**

* * *

Lucy stretched her arms up in the air, the sunlight warming her skin. Junior year had been tough but they had made it through. The last final was finally over, and today was the very first day of summer. The weather rewarded them for their hard work by breaking the hot spell that had haunted them since last week and gifting them a perfect summer day. Lucy had only just survived the five APs she piled into her schedule. If her three best friends hadn't been in them with her, she was sure she would've died. They were all standing around her right now.

Levy, her fellow book lover, reliable study buddy, and all around best friend since the two met in first grade, was smiling into the sun, a hand shielding her eyes. Her light blue hair had drifted in front of her face again and she deftly tucked it behind her headband.

Juvia was still in the front seat, fussing with the sun shade under the windshield. Juvia had gone unnoticed her first two years of high school, having been the silent girl in the back of the room. Lucy and Levy had just started talking to her this year and Lucy got the impression that they were among the first friends she had ever had. She was so sweet that it made up for any…eccentricities. In fact, the other girls loved her slight weirdness, it made her endearing.

The last of Lucy's close friends was running down the long driveway to them now, her white pixie cut bouncing around as she ran. Lisanna had just transferred into their school this year. She and Lucy had instantly bonded over their hatred of math in all its forms. Soon the four had become inseparable friends.

The huge house that Juvia had parked in front of was Lisanna's. Apparently, at the beginning of every summer Lisanna and her two older siblings threw a pool party to celebrate school being over and they all invited friends. This was Lisanna's first time having three girlfriends close enough to invite and she was thrilled. She got to the end of her long driveway and threw her arms around Lucy and Levy, squealing with glee. When Juvia finally got out of the car and joined them by the trunk, they wrapped her into their group hug. She blushed slightly, still unfamiliar with having so many close friends.

"So," Lisanna said seriously, stepping back. "You are all hereby ordered to have the time of your lives. Any boring people will be persecuted." Juvia's eyes widened until Lucy took pity and whispered to her that Lisanna was just kidding. Juvia didn't always get stuff like that. Levy saluted jokingly. "Sir, yes sir. We have acquired the supplies and rations, sir." She gestured to the trunk of the car which was packed with shopping bags full of food, three pool bags, and three overnight bags. Lisanna's smile widened, "Girls, you might just be prepared."

Lisanna threw open the gate to the backyard, the house towering over them to the left. She ushered them inside like a tour guide. The girls had been to her house a few times during the school year, but they'd never been in the backyard before. It was gorgeous. Directly behind the house was a large stone patio with tables, chairs, a grill, and an in ground fire pit. Then there was the pool/hot tub combo a little farther out. And past that stretched a rolling lawn with gardens and art fixtures scattered around. All the way around the yard were hedges and behind that, a tall fence.

Lucy turned to Lisanna and complimented the space. The two walked to the patio, twittering about how they had done on their last final. Levy and Juvia were too stunned to move. Lucy had grown up on an estate on the country even larger than this and was fairly unfazed by wealth and property. Levy and Juvia on the other hand, had never been in a backyard this big and were having difficulty forming sounds, let alone sentences.

Finally Levy managed to whisper shakily, "My entire backyard could fit in the pool." Juvia nodded. She felt the same. The girls were shaken out of their stupor by Lucy who was calling their names and waving them to the table where she and Lisanna had put all the groceries. The two girls hurried over, frantically complimenting the sprawling yard.

Lisanna laughed, "You should really tell all this to my sister. She maintains all of this by herself." All three girls stared at her, speechless, before their eyes scanned the immaculate grounds. There was no way one person could do all this themselves.

Just then a woman swept out of then house in a stylish summer dress. She was gorgeous, with long white hair and twinkling blue eyes. The sibling resemblance was obvious at once. The two sisters embraced happily.

"Guys," Lisanna made introductions. "This is my sister, Mira. Mira-nee, these are my friends, Lucy, Levy, and Juvia." Mira smiled sweetly and shook hands with each of them in turn. "It's so nice to meet you. Lisanna has told me so much about each of you. I feel like we already know each other." The smiled back. It was impossible not to feel at home under Mira's soft gaze.

"If you need to change, we have a bathroom just inside on the left." Mira directed sweetly. "I'm making some lunch right now so that'll be out in a bit, and I'll add these snacks to what we already have. Thank you for bringing them!"

Lucy was about to offer to help her get the grocery bags inside but before she could speak Mira had swept up the bags like they weighed nothing and glided back into the house. Lucy could only stare. It had taken both her and Lisanna to get all that up the drive and it hadn't been easy. She got the distinct impression that Mira was not to be underestimated in any capacity.

Levy and Juvia grabbed their pool bags and went inside to change. Lucy and Lisanna were wearing their bathing suits already under their clothes so the two sat down at the table in the shade of an umbrella to chat and wait.

Lisanna let out a huge sigh and relaxed backwards into her chair. "I'm so happy that I met you guys. I've never had such good girlfriends before." Lucy laughed. She felt the same. She and Levy had always been friends but they'd never had nice group like this. Lucy felt confident that with her three best friends in tow she was going to have the best summer of her life. She watched the the calm water of the pool, sitting in companionable silence with her friend.

She remembered vaguely that Lisanna had said that lots of people usually came to this. Surely there would be more than just the four girls and Mira? "Lisanna," Lucy asked. "I forgot about this earlier, who else is coming today?"

Lisanna's smile expanded even more and her eyes sparkled. "Oh you're going to love everyone! So first there's Natsu. We were best friends when we were really small and then we lost touch for a couple years but recently we've started hanging out again. He's so sweet and funny, you're going to love him. And then there's Gray, he can be a little standoffish but don't worry, he's really nice. And then Mira's best friend is coming too. She's…intense. But fun. I don't know if they'll hang out with us or not."

Lucy was excited. If Lisanna thought so highly of these guys, they must be really amazing. Secretly she wondered what the boys looked like. She hadn't had a boyfriend in a while and Levy had been teasing her about getting back out there. Shaking herself out of those thoughts, she focused. This was not the time to give in to her inner romantic. Adorable summer flings were only a plot device.

So three other people were coming. "Wait, don't you have a brother too? He's not going to be here?" Lucy wondered out loud. "Oh, Elfman," Lisanna said, remembering her brother. "He just graduated. I don't know if he'll be here, I think he's working on something with a friend."

Just then a howling yell startled Lucy out of her seat. She jumped up and stared around looking for the source of the noise. It had sounded suspiciously like a war-cry. When the shout went up again, Lucy pinpointed the sound to the very back of the yard, just past the tall wooden fence.

Suddenly something came flying over the fence at high velocity, screaming the whole time. Slowly Lucy realized that the something was a someone. He landed in a tumble in the backyard and came to a stop in the middle of the grassy yard, instantly jumping to his feet.

"Yosh," he cried out loudly. "Let's get this party started!" Before Lucy could get a good look at him, he noticed the two of them standing by the house. He raced around the pool and didn't slow down as he got close to the girls. As soon as he was close enough, he launched himself.

"Lisanna!" he yelled as he crashed into his oldest friend. They slammed into the ground and Lucy found herself convinced that this monstrous force of a boy had just killed her friend.

"Lisanna!" She knelt next to them. At first she thought Lisanna was crying but then she realized she was laughing, hugging the boy on top of her back. "It's good to see you too Natsu." Lucy fell back with a sigh of relief. Lisanna was alive, crisis averted. Wait, Natsu? This was the sweet, funny boy that Lisanna had spoken so highly of?

Natsu finally got up, pulling Lisanna to her feet beside him. Lisanna, in turn, offered Lucy a hand up, which she gratefully accepted. Natsu seemed to realize she was here for the first time and turned to face her. Lisanna did the introductions. "Natsu, this is my friend Lucy. Lucy, this is Natsu, one of the guys I told you about."

Remembering her manners, Lucy managed a polite "Nice to meet you." and Natsu shot back a "You too". Finally she was able to get a good look at him for the first time.

The first thing she noticed was his hair. It was a dusty pink, almost salmon and it stuck up in uneven spikes all over his head. Her eyes wandered to his body and she fought to keep her expression neutral. Tan skin stretched over tight muscles. He wore a baggy pair of pants and a small vest that hung open. She had to resist the urge to reach over and touch his stomach just to see if his abs were are hard as they looked.

Oh my god! What was she thinking! She had literally just met the guy and here she was, assaulting him in her mind. Angrily fighting the blush that was pushing towards her cheeks, she moved her eyes quickly back up to his face…and almost yelped! He had leaned in while she was appraising him and was now only a foot away from her face. His head was cocked to the side and his eyes stared into hers. Oh no. Did he realize she'd been staring? Oh no. She lost her fight to hide the blush and pink warmth slid into her cheeks. As she looked into his dark eyes, she started to get a little lost in them.

Luckily, at that moment, a loud crash startled her out of her staring. She jumped almost a foot in the air and yelped. Natsu burst out laughing. She turned back to glare at him and he laughed more.

"Lucy," he said between breaths, "you're kind of a weirdo, you know that?" She gaped. "Excuse you? I'm the weirdo! What about you?" He looked confused. "What about me?" She rolled her eyes and turned back to the crash.

A second boy was picking himself off the ground, having entered the backyard via the same fence that Natsu had hurdled. He was cursing steadily as he brushed grass and leaves off of his clothes. "Natsu!" he yelled as he caught sight of the boy across the pool. "You bastard! Why couldn't we go around to the front of the house like normal people?"

"You saying I'm not normal, Droopy Eyes?"

"What are you going to do about it, Slanty Eyes?"

And somehow both boys were in the middle of the lawn, rolling around, kicking up a cloud of dirt and dust. The occasional grunt punctuated the fight.

Lucy turned to Lisanna, at a complete loss for words. "Yeah, I get what you mean." Lisanna said, interpreting the girl's expression expertly. "They really are something else." Lucy could only nod. They certainly were something else. This was going to be an interesting summer alright.

* * *

Levy stood in the magnificent formal dining room wondering how she had gotten there. Mira's directions of inside and on the left were proving way more complicated than they had first appeared. Not only was she hopelessly lost, she had lost Juvia too. Now it was just her, standing alone with a small tote, dwarfed by the huge house.

When a hand came down on her shoulder, the tiny girl jumped two feet in the air. It was only Juvia, looking apologetic.

"Juvia is so very sorry Levy-san. I did not mean to startle you. Juvia has located the bathroom." She said politely. Levy sighed. They had been working all year on breaking the girl of her stiff and formal method of speaking but so far they had had no luck.

Recovering her breath, Levy gestured forward. "Lead the way." Juvia did, twisting confidently through the hallways. Levy was instantly lost again and she was glad that she wasn't the one trying to remember her way back through this maze.

When they finally stopped, Levy thought there must have been some mistake. The room they were standing in the doorway of was much too big to be a bathroom. For one thing, there was an entire furniture set-up including a settee on one side of the room. Levy decided not to touch anything for fear of getting it dirty or having it spontaneously combust under her fingers.

Juvia, while equally awed, did not seem to share her qualms as she placed her bag on one of the upholstered armchairs. The two girls started to dress quietly. Levy had just finished changing from her colorful romper into her favorite ruffled bathing suit when she heard a small cough from over her shoulder.

Once again, Juvia looked embarrassed. She was holding her bikini straps together behind her neck. "Would you mind…?" She murmured awkwardly gesturing to the straps in her hand. Levy rolled her eyes. What were friends for? She told Juvia as much as she took the straps and tied them securely. Poor girl, thought Levy, it must be crippling to be so shy. No wonder she hadn't made friends before.

Once dressed, they made their way back outside, Levy sticking close to Juvia so as not to wander off again. When they stepped into the sunlight, Levy's eyes automatically scanned the area.

Lisanna was in the pool already. Next to her was a boy with black hair that Levy had never seen. But more pressingly, her gaze was drawn to her best friend. Lucy was standing by the edge of the pool fully clothed and dripping wet. She looked furious as she yelled at a boy who lay on the ground in front of her, laughing.

She was about to go over and try to prevent what seemed to be the imminent murder of one of Lisanna's other friends by Lucy's hand when Juvia interrupted her. "Who is he?" Juvia asked. Levy was thinking the same thing. She'd never seen the pink haired boy before.

"I don't know, but Lu-chan looks pissed. I'll go see what happened." Levy told her. Juvia's voice hitched and when she spoke again, her voice sounded weird. "No, not him. The one next to Lisanna-san with the beautiful raven hair." Juvia whispered shakily.

Oh. Oh no. Levy hadn't been focusing enough the first time Juvia had asked to notice but now there was no ignoring it. When she turned to her friend, there was no doubt. Juvia's hands were clutched tightly against her chest and she looked slightly delirious. Crap.

One of Juvia's quirks was that she was never neutral about anything. Either she hated something or she loved it. Spicy food - hate. Rainy days - love. And the same held true for boys. No casual crushes for Juvia. She got obsessions. They hit almost instantly and were almost impossible to cure. Luckily the girls had only witnessed it once so far and it hadn't been too serious but this was gearing up to be the worst one yet.

"Lu-chan! Lisanna!" Levy shouted desperately across the patio. She waved her arms, trying to relay that there was an emergency. Lucy didn't notice as she continued her tirade. Lisanna saw her and got out of the pool. She grabbed Lucy and dragged her over.

Lucy looked like she was about to complain about being dragged around so roughly but then she caught sight of Juvia. Instantly, she adopted a look of horror. She tried to block Juvia's sightline to the pool but the blue haired girl just sidestepped her. Quickly, Lucy and Levy each grabbed an arm trying to hold her back but the tall girl was strong and just kept walking. Lisanna seemed not to understand the direness of the situation and was hiding a giggle behind her hand.

"Please, tell Juvia who this most handsome boy is. He has stolen Juvia's heart." she informed them. Lisanna followed her line of sight to the boy in the pool. "You mean Gray?" Lisanna said before the other two could stop her.

Hearing his name, Gray turned towards them. Levy could practically hear Juvia's heart speed up. He pushed himself out of the water and climbed out of the pool, walking towards them. Levy had to admit he was good looking. Not her type, but handsome enough.

She heard a crash and turned to find Juvia unconscious on the ground, obviously overcome with the sight of Gray rising shirtless out of the water. Lisanna was laughing while Lucy knelt next to the girl and tried to inspect the bump there was sure to be on her head.

Gray ran the last couple of steps to the girls, looking concerned. "Is everything okay over here?" he asked nervously, like he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. Since the others were distracted, Levy answered.

"She'll be fine. The heat just got to her for a second there. Nice to meet you, I'm Levy." She explained and held out her hand. He shook it. "I'm Gray."

Juvia was starting to stir, touching the back of her head tenderly. Knowing that she shouldn't, but unable to help herself Levy gave in to her mischievous side. "Would you mind helping us get her up?" She asked Gray sweetly. He agreed awkwardly, "uh sure." He was really out of his depth with the four girls.

And so it was that when Juvia opened her eyes, Gray's concerned face was the first thing she saw, making her fall back again. "Oi," he cried out, "are you alright?" He moved an arm behind her shoulders so that she was sitting up. When she had steadied herself again, he stood up offering her a hand to help her up as well. She took it daintily and he pulled her up. When she wavered, she unconsciously put a hand on his chest to steady herself and he caught the small of her back so that she couldn't fall down again.

Quickly, they both realized the position they were in and dual blushes burst onto their faces. Juvia looked like she was in heaven while Gray looked like he would be absolutely fine if the ground he was standing on opened itself up and swallowed him.

Levy was on the ground leaning against Lisanna, clutching the stitch she had in her side from laughing. Lisanna was in a similar situation. Levy couldn't get her breath back, that was so much better than she could have hoped for. She knew she would pay for it later when Juvia was talking her ear off about her obsession but she thought it had been worth it. Lucy had obviously noticed what she had done and did not approve. When their eyes met Lucy mouthed we'll talk about this later. Levy just nodded, feeling sheepish.

Obviously feeling left out, the other boy jumped into the middle of the group startling Lucy and breaking the spell on Gray and Juvia as they jumped apart. "Natsu!" Lucy admonished, "Don't do stuff like that!" Levy attached the name to the boy in her head. So this was Natsu. He and Gray must have been Lisanna's other friends. She remembered how Lucy had yelled at him earlier and wondered what he had done.

Just as she had the thought, Lucy answered it. She was backing away from the boy who was approaching her with a wicked smile on his face. "Don't you dare." she was saying. "Not again. If you throw me fully clothed into that pool again I will end you." Levy stifled her laugh, remembering Lucy standing in dripping clothes while yelling at Natsu.

Natsu had paused, maybe considering her threat, though he didn't seem worried. Levy wondered idly id Lucy had been serious. She was rarely violent though Levy knew she could be a force when she really put her mind to it.

"Okay," Natsu said thoughtfully "strip." Lucy's eyes almost bugged out of her head and Levy thought she saw steam coming out of the girl's ears. Though from anger or embarrassment she couldn't be sure. "Excuse you?" Lucy choked out. Levy waited with amusement for his answer.

He rolled his eyes and explained as if he was speaking to a child. "Well, I want to throw you in the pool. You don't want to go in with your clothes on. So take them off. You're wearing your suit underneath, right?" Levy watched her friend remember how to breathe again. Slowly Lucy's shock and horror melted into annoyance.

"Fine." she snapped grumpily. She pulled her shirt over her head and stepped out of her shorts. As soon as she was only in her bathing suit, Natsu stepped in and scooped her up. His strong arms wrapped around her thin waist as he lifted her off the ground. Her hands steadied her on his shoulder as she called him names all the way to the pool where she was cut off when he jumped in and submerged them underwater.

During their exchange, Levy's eyebrows had crept higher and higher on her face. She turned to look at Lisanna who smiled widely back at her. Both of them shared a secret love of mischief and Levy could tell that this summer there would be plenty of it.

Realizing that she was still on the ground, Levy stood up. She headed for the pool, excited to follow her blond friend into the gorgeous water.

* * *

Lucy sat on the steps in the shallow end of the pool trying not to sulk. She couldn't believe how irritating and immature Natsu was. She was glad Levy was here. It was nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't as close with the guys as Lisanna or as obsessed as Juvia.

Speaking of Natsu, she heard him yell out, "Chicken Fights!" Chicken fights? What were those? Wait, was that that thing where you got on each others shoulders and tried to knock another pair down? Before she could ask out loud, her question was violently answered.

She felt something on the back of her legs and suddenly she was rising out of the water. She looked down in shock as she let out a very undignified shriek. Natsu had swum underneath her and stood up. Her bare legs were pressed against his bare skin and she tried to breathe normally. The bones in his shoulders were digging into her thighs slightly. He tucked her feet under his arms so that she was held steady.

"Onward, Lucy" He yelled, attempting to run forward through the water. She was so busy trying to keep her balance that she didn't even have time to properly yell at him. "Please put me down!" She managed to squeak out as she got her breath back. He pretended not to hear her as he pushed on.

Across from them Levy was maneuvering herself onto Lisanna's shoulders. Gray had lifted Juvia up out of the water and deposited her on his shoulders. The poor girl was unbelievably red but Gray had seemingly overlooked it in his competitiveness.

Levy and Lisanna advanced on them, shorter than Natsu and Lucy but looking very determined. Lucy would have retreated had she had any say in the matter. As it was, her hands were on Natsu's head so that she didn't fall off. She was trying to focus on her approaching friends because it meant that she wasn't focused on how soft his hair was even with the chlorine in it.

As soon as Levy got close enough, Lucy removed her hands from Natsu and grabbed Levy instead. She meant to simply hold on for balance and perhaps lament to Levy that the boy she was trapped on top of was insane. Instead it became clear immediately that Levy was playing to win, trying to twist her wrists to throw Lucy into the pool. Lucy's eyes narrowed as her own competitive spirit was triggered.

She and Levy struggled back and forth. Lucy was stronger but Levy's lower center of balance meant that they were more steady. Still, Natsu did a good job of keeping her up as he and Lisanna passed jabs back and forth. From the way they talked it was obvious that they had known each other forever.

"You think you can beat me, ha!"

"Must I remind you, Natsu, that I have been able to beat you since we were tiny."

"I think you are the one who's tiny, Lisanna."

"Everyone knows its brain over brawn."

"There's no strategy to chicken fights!" Natsu seemed to have been proved correct as Lucy got in a good shove and Levy was thrown back, sending Lisanna scrambling backwards trying to keep her upright. They came back with momentum and it was neck and neck.

Juvia and Gray had finally sorted their situation (both balance and blushing) enough that they started walking towards the fight, intending to break in. Juvia looked very nervous and Lucy figured she had probably never participated in a chicken fight before. A small part of Lucy felt bad. But the majority of her was already overtaken with the spirit of winning and knew that there must be no quarter given in war.

Without taking their eyes off each other Lucy and Levy both reached out with one hand and together they rammed Juvia in the shoulders. She slammed backwards into the deep end, Gray losing his balance and going over with her.

Natsu managed to laugh as Gray came up treading water, spluttering, and annoyed. He muttered something that sounded like whatever before he retired to the side of the pool to watch the fight go down. He made sure Juvia was okay briefly and pulled her to the side with him, out of harm's way. She sunk into the water down to her eyes to hide her permanently blushing face.

Lucy and Levy circled. They didn't need words to see that the other was serious. Although as they stared, small smiles threatened to pull up the edges of their mouths. Just as Levy started to laugh, Lucy took advantage of the distraction and threw her to the side. The unexpected momentum pulled both Levy and Lisanna crashing into the water.

"Yes!" Lucy cheered, putting her arms up in victory. Natsu was practically dancing in the water chanting "yes yes yes, we did it, yeah!" He dipped under the water so Lucy was dropped back on her feet. When he came back up he jumped onto her, pulling her into a tight hug. With the adrenaline of winning rushing through her veins, she hugged him back.

He pulled away and held her an arms length away. "Lucy that was fantastic!" He said with a huge smile. She looked away, embarrassed and proud. Maybe he wasn't so bad. The excitement shining in his eyes was kind of addictive.

"You know," he considered thoughtfully, "you're kinda heavy." She just stared at him, openmouthed. Quickly the anger came rushing back to her and she started hitting his arm and chest and whatever else she could reach, punctuating it with words, "You. Asshole. How. Dare. You. Say. That. To. A. Girl."

"Ow! Ow! Lucy stop it!" He put up his hands to protect his face as she kept hitting him. "I meant like, it was a good tactical thing." Her eyes flared. " _Tactics_? My weight is a tactic?!" She screeched. "Yeah," he muttered lamely, trying to make everything okay again, "you know, being heavy means you're probably strong. I'm heavy too."

She wasn't even listening. He looked to Gray who was laughing hysterically (he was used to being the one who didn't know what to say) and then to Lisanna, who put up her hands in a you're on your own gesture.

Lucy continued to hit him as he whined excuses that just dug him a deeper grave. I was right, Lucy thought. Just a stupid, immature, idiot. She needed to learn not to fall for his excitement. Obviously, he was nothing but trouble.

* * *

Levy was having the best summer of her life and it was only day one. She watched the clouds and breathed in the relaxing fresh air. Her half asleep mind was shaken awake by a loud noise.

The gate to the backyard slammed open, shuddering against its hinges. Levy recognized Lisanna's brother from the last time she had been over. Elfman's loud voice preceded him around the corner. "Men!" He shouted as greeting, shooting a quick salute to Natsu and Gray in the pool. The two barely heard him over the epic splash war they had going. He walked to the edge of the pool to be heard but with devious smiles, the two in the pool turned on him, drenching him in a wall of water.

"A man never backs down from a challenge!" he announced stridently and with a running start, he cannonballed fully clothed into the pool. Levy supposed it didn't really matter since he couldn't get any wetter than Natsu and Gray had already made him.

Levy was sitting on the patio in the shade of an umbrella with Juvia. The poor thing was fidgeting in her lawn chair, her eyes following Gray as he moved through the water. The two girls had retired to the patio to take a break when they started getting tired. Lucy and Lisanna were still in the pool, trying not to drown in the middle of the splash war.

Levy settled back into her chair, letting the sun warm her skin and dry her suit. She was distracted by movement out of the corner of her eye. A guy was leaning against the gate to the backyard, having followed Elfman in.

Instantly, she found herself staring. He was tall and dark, with a long tangle of wild black hair. He turned slightly and silver piercings flashed in the sun. He had them not only in his ears but also over his eyes and down the bridge of his nose. They gave the effect that he wasn't altogether human. He was glaring at Elfman's back, massive arms crossed unhappily over his chest.

For a moment, Levy found herself fascinated. His chiseled body was so attractive and his rough look so unique that Levy felt like he had stepped straight out of one of the works of fiction she spent so much time reading.

But then he looked up and the effect was shattered. He met her eyes and the intensity of his gaze was like a physical weight had landed on her shoulders. A basic, prey part of her was whispering that he could probably snap her neck without even trying, or caring. She shivered involuntarily.

He caught her fear and his glower shifted into a sneer. She felt her own face shift as well, from fear to disgust. Forget everything she had said, he was just another asshole and she wanted no part of it.

Forcing her gaze away from him, she went back to watching her friends in the pool. She felt his eyes linger for a minute before he too turned away.

"Oi, Blondie!" he shouted at the pool. Levy smirked, his voice suited him. It was as dark and rough as his look. Over in the pool, both Lucy and Lisanna had looked up, wondering why they were being hailed so rudely by someone they'd never met. But he wasn't looking at either of them, he was looking past them at someone else.

Even at this distance, Levy could see Elfman's fists and teeth had clenched. "Gajeel, I told you not to call me that!" Elfman yelled back.

Levy put a hand over her mouth, covering a laugh that she knew was wrong. Elfman had white hair like his two sisters and so technically was a blond, but she doubted anyone had ever dared call him by such a belittling nickname before. At 6'8" Elfman was a literal tower of muscle and Levy found herself admiring the audacity of someone willing to mock him so nonchalantly.

No, she corrected herself vehemently, he was not to be admired in any way. He was just a rude asshole, end of story.

Gajeel, for his part, looked completely unfazed, either not knowing or not caring that he was poking the beast. "Tch," he rolled his eyes, "whatever. Let's go, we got work to do." Without another word or a look back, he turned and walked away.

Elfman grumbled under his breath but did as he was told anyway, wading to the side of the pool so he could hoist himself out of the water. As he stood by the edge trying to wring some water out of his clothes, Lisanna swam over to him.

"So," she asked, eyebrows raised all the way into her hairline. "Who's your friend?"

Some friend, thought Levy. Besides, that guy didn't even seem like he could have friends. "Friend might be a bit of a stretch," muttered Elfman, mirroring Levy's thoughts. "His name is Gajeel. We're working on a summer project together."

"Seems nice," said Lucy sarcastically, sidling up next to Lisanna.

Elfman rolled his eyes but didn't respond. Giving his wet clothes one more shake, Elfman turned and left through the gate just like Gajeel had, closing it carefully behind him.

Gajeel. Levy turned the foreign word over in her mouth. It had a jagged feel to it and she found herself wanting to whisper it out loud just to hear what it would sound like.

She was pulled out her unwanted thoughts by Lucy who was waving her over to the pool. Natsu had launched another one man splash war against Gray, Lucy, and Lisanna. Gray seemed to be taking the brunt of it but the girls were obviously struggling and could use a hand. Juvia, seeing that Gray was in trouble, was already halfway to the pool. Levy quickly got up to follow, happy to leave all thoughts of the studded boy behind her.

* * *

The party had gone on for hours. Lisanna smiled to herself, it had been such a success and everyone was getting along amazingly. She was standing on the patio finishing her glass of lemonade before she went back to the group. The sun was just starting to sink and the party would be breaking up soon.

Her sister Mira joined her. Together, they looked out over all the others in the pool. Levy was dangling her legs in the water, drinking lemonade from a curly straw and laughing happily. Lucy was trying to get out of the way as Natsu and Gray wrestled under water. And Juvia was cheering on Gray from the side of the pool. She took a rogue limb to the face and Lucy and Levy both hurried over to make sure she was alright.

Mira laughed at their antics. "So," she said, her eyes sliding sideways to her little sister, "how's your plan going?" Lisanna's content smile slipped into a slightly guilty one.

"Well actually, it's going perfectly." She confided in her sister. "Those two…" She pointed to Lucy and Natsu. Lucy was telling Natsu off for hitting Juvia and he was nodding, not looking even remotely guilty. "…are perfect for each other. Just like I knew they would be. I can't wait to see when they get together because they totally will."

Mira nodded excitedly. Lisanna had inherited her romantic tendencies from her big sister. In fact, Mira could be an even more meddling romantic than Lisanna was.

"What about those two?" Mira asked, pointing to Gray and Juvia. Juvia was trying to subtly slide closer to Gray along the wall but just as she got close, he dove forward to surprise attack Natsu. Lisanna tried to look innocent. "I didn't _know_ anything would happen." She dropped her voice to a conspiring whisper. "But I had maybe hoped that something might happen. And just look!" "I know." Mira agreed. "They're going to look so cute together with that blue and black hair."

"And then of course, there's _that_!" Lisanna pointed to the edge of the yard, by the gate. Mira hadn't even noticed that anyone was there. But sure enough, a figure hovered at the edge of the yard, standing completely still against the fence. He glared at the mess of people laughing together but didn't say anything. His arms were crossed tightly and stiffly, metal studs glinting in his forearms. And if Lisanna was correct, his gaze was staying mostly on the short girl at the edge of the group. He followed her blue hair as she leaned down to talk to Lucy and sat back up.

Lisanna smirked. She hadn't seen that one coming at all, but she was certainly very interested in seeing where it would lead. From the look Mira was giving her, she shared that opinion. This was shaping up to be a very interesting summer after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

 **Hope I didn't take too long with this. I always forget how long it takes to write things.**

 **All your reviews made me so happy! Enjoy this chapter!**

 **Still don't own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Lucy watched the last rays of sunlight slip below the horizon. She shifted closer to the fire. The cool night air was delicious on her back in combination with the heat of the fire washing over her. It was getting late. The girls were seated around the lovely outdoor fire pit. The boys had gone home for the night. Lisanna said they were all having a sleepover at the apartment that Natsu and Gray shared. Lucy wondered how those two managed to share a space without killing each other or destroying the building.

Pushing thoughts of the destructive boy out of her head, she sighed happily. Today had been wonderful, like a dream. They had played in the pool for hours, taking breaks when they were tired to eat Mira's delicious home cooked food and drink something cold.

"Today was the best!" Levy announced, stretching up like a cat from where she sat tucked away in her chair. Lucy smiled, great minds think alike. Lisanna stood up, "I just want to thank you guys so much for coming. I had such a great time." Levy and Lucy both jumped out of their chair to give the girl a hug.

Lucy opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted. The wooden gate slammed open, twice as loud as when Elfman had come bursting in earlier. With a creak, the hinges gave way and the entire structure crashed to the ground. Lucy jumped back in horror. Who was strong enough to destroy a gate just by pushing it open?

Mira had just come out of the house and was standing by the circle of chairs with a tray of smores makings. She sighed gently. "Again?" she murmured "ah, well." She set the tray down and moved to poke the fire with a stick so that it kept burning evenly. Lucy thought she was taking the whole thing incredibly lightly. Lisanna also looked unperturbed. She waved Levy and Lucy back to their seats, which they took nervously.

Lucy could finally hear the person that had come in, though she couldn't seem them yet since they hadn't stepped into the small pool of light the fire gave off. Determined, heavy footfalls echoed around the corner. Finally, they turned the corner and waved. Lucy was taken aback. She had been expecting some huge man to have broken in. Instead, it was a woman, only slightly taller than her.

Lucy turned to Lisanna. "I was expecting a monster," she whispered. "Oh, that's a monster alight," Lisanna whispered back with a playful smile.

The woman walked right up the edge of their circle and Lucy was able to get a proper look at her. Her long hair was strikingly red and hung in a straight curtain down her back. Her eyes were fierce and Lucy wondered if Lisanna might be right about the monster thing.

"Mira, sorry I'm late," She announced curtly. Mira faced her, "I had thought you weren't coming. The party started 5 hours ago, you know." The woman grabbed the poker from beside the fire. She knelt in front of Mira and pushed the sharp piece of metal into her hands. "It is unacceptable. Please, you may take my life in penance," she said seriously, bowing her head.

Lucy was horrified! "Is she serious?!" She whispered frantically to Lisanna. Her friend just shrugged nonchalantly. "Probably," Lisanna reasoned.

Lucy looked back to the spectacle before her. Mira had talked her friend off her knees and now faced her towards the girls. "Ladies," Mira introduced, "this is my friend, Erza." Erza dropped a low bow. "It is my honor to meet each and every one of you." She said seriously. The girls each greeted her back, equally terrified.

"So why were you so late, Erza?" Lisanna asked casually. Repeated exposure had made her pretty much immune to the intimidating girl. Erza straightened up. "I had to make a few arrests on the way here. And then I had to take them to the station and fill out all the requisite paperwork." "Oh Erza-san are you a police officer?" Levy asked politely.

Lisanna and Mira both groaned, knowing what was coming. Lucy just looked back and forth between the sisters. She didn't know why they were reacting like that. She had been thinking the same thing and if Levy hadn't asked, she would have.

Erza stepped up onto one of the chairs. "I am not a police officer, only a concerned citizen. It is every denizen's sacred duty to protect their city from those who seek to crumble our fine society. And as a proud occupant of our town, I attempt to fulfill that responsibility at every opportunity. A citizen's arrest is the weapon of the people against the corrupt. Where we call out criminals and tell them that we will not accept their miscreant behavior in our place of residence, our beautiful hometown!" As she finished the obviously very well rehearsed speech, Lucy thought she could see the strength of Erza's conviction manifest into glowing rays behind her.

Lisanna and Mira clapped sarcastically, obviously having heard this manifesto in the past. Lucy leaned over to whisper to Lisanna again, "A citizen's arrest? People actually do that?" Lisanna chuckled, " _People_ don't. Erza does."

"What crime did you stop today, Erza?" Mira asked sweetly, indulging her oldest friend. "Jaywalking," Erza announced, head held high, "two cases. Repeat offenders. I had warned them previously and they didn't listen." Wow, Lucy thought. She really was a hard-ass. Quickly she tried to remember what little laws she usually broke, like jaywalking. She'd never met anybody before who actually counted stuff like that. It was kind of ridiculous.

An awkward silence descended on the circle as everyone thought of how to respond to Erza. Finally Mira took pity on everyone and changed the subject. "So did everyone have a good time today?" she asked, addressing the group. "Oh!" Erza perked up and looked at everyone in turn, "Tell me how the day went! And I haven't gotten your names yet."

Mira clapped her hands and took a seat next to Erza. "OK everyone. We'll go around the circle. Say your name, your favorite thing that happened today, and," she thought for a moment, "your favorite thing to do in your free time. That way we can get to know you."

Lucy felt slightly ridiculous, like she dropped through a portal back to elementary school. But Mira looked so excited, she didn't have the heart to tell her that she didn't want to. Levy was throwing her a look that said that she felt the same way. The best friends shared a silent conversation. After many head tilts, small gestures, and pointed looks, they decided there was no way out of it and they might as well indulge the older girl.

Juvia looked very nervous, but that was probably just her natural shyness. Lisanna was rolling her eyes good-naturedly, used to her sister's antics. Erza and Mira both seemed very excited. "You can start and we'll go around to the left." Mira said, pointing to her sister and then gesturing left to Lucy. Lisanna, smiling to her sister, cleared her throat and began. "Hello there, I'm Lisanna. My favorite thing that happened today was when Lucy and I beat Natsu and Gray in that chicken fight after they issued a challenge. May their faces be rubbed in it for eternity."

Lucy smiled, that had been fun. Though also kind of painful, she added, as she rubbed her shoulder where Natsu had shoved her. Natsu and Gray had been convinced they were going to win against the two girls. Because of the boys' arrogance and poor teamwork, Lisanna and Lucy had won not once, but three times. Natsu and Gray had just kept getting back up only to be shoved back down. By the end of it, Lucy had decided that chicken fights weren't so bad. Even if that first time with Natsu had been startling. She blushed as she remembered his strong arms wrapped around her legs. Ack, what was she thinking. Attempting to bleach her brain of the memory and her uncalled for thoughts that went with it, she listened intently to Lisanna.

"And in my free time I like to play video games." Lisanna finished. Lucy was a little surprised. She hadn't known that her friend was a gamer. Lucy had never really gotten into them. She wondered vaguely if Lisanna was any good. Then she realized everyone was staring at her. Oh shoot, go around to the left from Lisanna. She was on Lisanna's left. Crap.

"Um hi. I'm Lucy," she stammered awkwardly, normally she prepped in her head before addressing a group, "and my favorite thing today was, um." She stopped. She hadn't prepared anything. Her mind was blanking. What had happened today? Images rushed through her head. Natsu throwing her into a pool, Natsu demanding that she strip and then throwing her into a pool again, Natsu hugging her after they won their chicken fight, Natsu splashing her many many times, Natsu trying to force feed her after she had insisted that she wasn't that hungry. This was so not helpful. Those weren't even good memories. Besides, she couldn't say anything like that, what would the others think? Disposing of those inconvenient memories, (and her inconvenient blush), she focused on a detail that was leading to a more practical answer. The food Natsu shoved at her. The food. Dinner.

"My favorite part was your amazing dinner, Mira. Everything was so tasty and I loved laughing with everyone." She sighed with relief. A non-embarrassing answer. And as a bonus, Mira looked thrilled. Oh wait, one more part. "And in my free time I like to work on my novel." Perfect, done. On to the next person. But everyone was still looking her. Oh crap. She had just admitted to writing a novel. That was supposed to be a secret from everyone but Levy. She could feel everyone's questions rising to the surface but Levy took pity and stepped in.

"So Juvia, you're next." said Levy, directing everyone's attention to the poor bluenette next to her. Juvia sat up nervously. "Hello. I am Juvia. Juvia is a competitive swimmer and practices whenever there is time. Juvia's favorite part of today was Gray-sama. He's amazing." The last line was said with a dreamy sigh as her eyes turned into hearts.

Lucy watched Levy and Lisanna pass a look between them. She tried to give them a harsh stare but they were avoiding her gaze, laughing silently. Erza had opened her mouth to ask her about her swimming, (Erza loved anything competitive), but had been struck dumb by her next line. Mira hid her smile behind her hand demurely. She knew that Erza didn't know how to deal with stuff like this. Erza's mouth hung open for a minute before she realized she was gaping and composed her expression.

"You know," said Levy through her mirth, "just Gray himself is not an event from the day. You have to pick a specific moment." Juvia seemed incredibly concerned. She spluttered anxiously. "Juvia could not possibly pick only one moment with Gray-sama!" "You must." Lisanna insisted. "Okay then," Juvia's eyes turned back into hearts and she clutched her hands together over her chest, as if concerned her heart would break through her ribs. "Juvia liked it when she was feeling faint and Gray-sama rushed to her rescue, holding her in his strong arms and gazing into her eyes!" She fanned herself as the memory heated her face.

Erza went from mildly uncomfortable to scaldingly embarrassed instantly. Her red face matched her red hair. She leaned over to Mira and whispered. "This is the same Gray that I've met, right? Is this true? It seems so out of character." Mira was chuckling, while Lisanna cracked up on the other side. "The general concept is true. The details may have been slightly embellished." Mira whispered back. Lisanna leaned in too. "Very, very embellished," she added, "Juvia has a very active imagination." This seems to calm Erza down enough that her face lost some of it's color.

"Alright, I'm next." Levy said, sobering up from her latest laughing fit. "Hey, I'm Levy. In my free time, I read every book I can get my hands on. And my favorite part of today…" she grinned at Lucy across the circle. Lucy felt a small feeling of dread settle into her stomach. "My favorite part of the day is when Natsu threw Lucy into the pool! Your face when he told you to strip, priceless." Lisanna laughed along with Levy as Lucy felt her face heat up, again. Everyone thought Levy was so sweet. And she was, until you got to know her really well. And then she was the devil, thought Lucy bitterly. Alright, not the devil, just a bit mischievous.

"You should have seen the first time! She totally didn't see it coming!" Lisanna piped up. She leaned forward towards Levy who was almost directly across the fire. Levy leaned forwards too. They traded stories back and forth like jabs, Lucy occasionally trying to interrupt.

"How about when she was on his shoulders for the fight and she was so red!"

"If a guy I barely knew was feeling up my leg, I'd be red too."

"He was _not_ feeling me up!"

"So how far up did he get anyway Luce?"

"I liked how she kept staring at him all day. I've only ever looked at food with that much drooling."

"I was not drooling! I was glaring! Because he's so annoying."

Lucy dropped her head into her hands, sincerely embarrassed. Levy and Lisanna finally relented. Lisanna stood up. "So the boys are having their own sleepover at Natsu and Gray's place. I said I would bring some food over because otherwise I'm concerned they would burn down the place trying to cook. Also, Elfman asked nicely. Does anyone want come with me? I think I'll need help lugging all this stuff."

Lucy was about to volunteer, she liked to be helpful. But then she hesitated. While she was curious about Natsu's apartment, she had had quite enough of that boy for today. Lisanna turned to her. "How about you Lucy? Maybe the boys are having a naked pillow fight. I'm sure Natsu would let you join in." Lisanna said with an innocent smile. Lucy scowled at her. Lisanna could carry all the stuff herself and break her arms for all she cared.

Levy decided that her poor friend had suffered enough. She stood up, "I'll help you Lisanna." Lisanna sent one last glance at Lucy before smiling at Levy. "Alright cool, the stuff is in the kitchen. Let's go." Lisanna and Levy waved goodbye and promised to be back later. Then they headed off.

Lucy noticed that Juvia had been conspicuously silent. Why hadn't she volunteered? She looked over to see Juvia slumped unconscious in her chair, a touch of blood just under her nose. Apparently, the words "naked pillow fight" combined with the image of her precious Gray had been too much for her heart. Poor girl, thought Lucy.

* * *

Erza leaned over to Mira. "You're behind this, aren't you?" She narrowed her eyes at her oldest friend. Mira tried to look innocent. "What do you mean, 'this'?" "You know what I mean. This." Erza gestured vaguely around them at the spots where the four girls had sat, especially at the two that remained.

Mira copied her motion, gesturing delicately. " _This_ , as you put it, is entirely Lisanna's doing. I have nothing to do with it." Erza looked at her skeptically, so she continued. "Not that I would be against being part of it if I was asked. It also doesn't mean that I can't enjoy it." "Poor kids," Erza said seriously, "two Strauss sisters after them. They don't stand a chance." "Well let's hope so," Mira said cheerily, "besides, Erza, you can't lie to me. I know you love this stuff."

Erza rolled her eyes but inclined her head, conceding the point. The two girls shared a conspiratorial smile. Mira raised her glass and Erza lightly tapped hers against it. "To summer romance." announced Mira. "To incorrigible matchmakers." Erza countered. Mira laughed and they both drank.

* * *

Levy and Lisanna had split the many grocery bags between them as they headed to the apartment where the boys were. "So how many boys are there at this sleepover?" asked Levy. She had thought it was just the few from today but there was a total of eight grocery bags being lugged to the group, all of them exploding with food. She knew teenage boys ate a lot but this had to be too much. It was only for one night after all.

Lisanna laughed, noticing her eyeing the copious amounts of food. "You have no idea how much boys can eat." she warned, "my brother alone could probably eat almost all of this." Levy's eyes widened. Then again, Elfman was a mountain. She shouldn't be surprised that he needed that much food.

"And to answer your previous question," Lisanna continued, "I think it's just the boys from today. So don't worry, no unexpected surprises." Levy relaxed. She didn't much feel like walking into some massive testosterone fueled brawl.

The walk took about 15 minutes. Lisanna explained that there was a faster way if you took a shortcut through the woods behind her house, which is why Natsu and Gray had vaulted the fence when they arrived this morning, (Levy wished she could've been there to see that, the fence was taller than she way). They had to go the long way because they were laden with bags and the forest path was very uneven.

When they arrived, Levy was surprised. It was a nice little building. Rather small with only about 6 different apartments. The only off-putting thing was the boxy structure and solid gray walls. It gave Levy a slight uneasy feeling but she couldn't say why.

"So this is it," Lisanna introduced with a small wave of her arm, somehow managed beneath all the bags, "it's such a perfect place for the boys. Entirely concrete, so they can't destroy it like the last one and perfectly soundproofed, so they can't get evicted like the time before last." Levy gaped. There was the reason for her light anxiety, the place looked too solid. Like a cage for a wild animal.

When she told Lisanna the metaphor in her head, Lisanna nodded seriously. "That's a very accurate comparison," she said before heading inside. Levy stared, she had been mostly joking. Oh well, no going back now. She followed Lisanna through the front door.

There was no elevator but there were only three floors so it wasn't a problem. The boys lived on the second. Though the trip would have been a lot more pleasant without groceries weighing them down. When they reached the right floor, Lisanna turned to the apartment on the right. The door was simple and plain, the hallway silent.

Lisanna knocked briskly and the door was instantly thrown open. As soon as the door opened, a cacophony of sounds exploded into the hallway. Levy was shocked. Soundproofing, her ass. There had to be some kind of magic going on to have hidden that level of noise. This place really was perfect for the boys.

Once she got over her surprise, she looked into the room. Elfman had been the one to open the door but after briefly hugging his sister, he had leapt back into the living room. She followed the Lisanna inside.

And immediately walked into a massive testosterone fueled brawl. Natsu, Gray, and Elfman were rolling around the floor, wrestling and punching. They moved so fast that she could only catch glimpses of their features. Here a bit of Natsu's pink hair as he leapt through the air, there a tan fist filling the space where someone's face had been just moments ago.

Levy followed Lisanna to the kitchen. Luckily they didn't have to go close to the brawl to get there. Levy was sure she would be killed in moments if she went anywhere close to those flailing limbs. They deposited their bags onto the simple yet functional counter. Levy stretched out her arms, trying to return some of the blood flow. As she watched the boys fight, she wondered how Lisanna had survived being friends with all these guys for so long.

"FOOD'S HERE!" Lisanna bellowed, causing Levy to jump. The boys leapt apart and raced to the kitchen, ready to descend on the food. Lisanna enforced order manually, elbowing the boys back if they got too close. She forced a plate and a napkin into each of their hands, demanding that they behave civilly or else. Her exact words were "You will manage to behave like proper human beings until we leave or so help me I will take you back with us and strap you to Erza for the rest of the night." The boys must have been quite familiar with Erza because they immediately straightened up and stopped pushing each other. That didn't stop Natsu and Gray from glaring when they both reached for the same bag of chips. Lisanna confiscated the disputed bag before a full blown war could resume and diplomatically handed them each a bag of something else.

Well that answered that question. Apparently living with a brother a foot taller than you taught you how to handle these kind of things. Levy was beyond impressed. She swore to herself that she would have Lisanna teach her how to sound intimidating. It was one thing she'd never mastered, and her minuscule height didn't help.

The boys took their loaded plates and retired to the living room to eat. There didn't seem to be a proper dining room. In the living room, a couch and two armchairs formed a half circle around a large tv. Gray and Natsu sat on opposite ends of the couch while Elfman draped himself on one of the armchairs. It barely contained him. The girls followed, Lisanna perching on the arm of the sofa next to Natsu and Levy settling into the other armchair, tucking her feet underneath her.

"So…" Lisanna sang out, stretching the vowel, "Natsu, how do you feel about Lucy?" Levy leaned forward. She would never have been able to come out and ask like Lisanna did but she was also desperately curious how the energetic pinkette felt about her best friend. She was truly unprepared for Natsu's response though.

"I really like her!" he said emphatically, "She's fun." Levy stared. She had had her suspicions but she had never expected him to give it up this easily. This was too good to be true. As it turns out, that sentiment was perfectly accurate.

Gray snorted. "You idiot. They meant do you want to go out with her?" "Go where?" asked Natsu curiously. Gray rolled his eyes and tried to find the most literal phrasing possible. "Whether you are interested in her romantically and if you would like to date her." He clarified. Natsu stared blankly. "I just want her to be my partner for chicken fights again. She's much better than you are." He said to Gray. The latter fumed, and it looked like another fight was sparking.

Levy felt her smile dip into a frown. So he hadn't meant that he actually liked Lu-chan. That was a shame. Lisanna, however, looked undeterred. In fact, she had a scheming glint in her eyes that Levy was both very curious about and a little scared by.

Natsu and Gray had begun wrestling on the couch. Lisanna had somehow gotten her hands on both their plates in the split second before they spilled. She held them over her head so the boys couldn't make a mess. She walked over to deposit the plates in the kitchen, but she wasn't through with the interrogations yet.

"And Gray, what do you think of our Juvia?" she asked innocently. Gray froze where he was, and Levy could swear she saw a light hint of red on his neck. Perhaps she was just projecting though, it had happened in the past. Before she could decide whether it was really there or not, Gray went flying across the room. Caught unprepared by one of Natsu's punches and was sent flying across the room. She wondered at the fact that both boys weren't dead yet with fights like theirs.

Natsu began a victory dance and Gray complained bitterly that it wasn't a fair fight because Lisanna had distracted him. It seemed like he was mostly arguing with Natsu so that Lisanna wouldn't push her question. Luckily for him, Lisanna seemed content to let it go for the time being. She and Levy both laughed as Elfman announced that "real men fight fair" before barreling into the fight himself.

A half hour later the girls still hadn't left. The boys fight had somehow turned into an arm wrestling tournament. Both Lisanna and Levy had good naturally joined in at first but were out in seconds. It was a miracle their arms were still attached. Now they just watched, passing bags of chips back and forth between the couch and the armchair. Natsu and Gray had been in a stalemate for at least five solid minutes and the girls were trying to keep it exciting by changing who they rooted for every 30 seconds.

Levy had just passed the bag back to Lisanna when a shadow fell over her. "You're in my chair," said a voice over her shoulder. Levy winced. She'd only heard the voice once before but there was no way she was forgetting it any time soon. She knew exactly who was standing behind her, arms probably crossed over his massive chest.

She had a furtive silent conversation with Lisanna which went something like this.

 _I didn't know_ he _was going to be here._

 _I said everybody from earlier._

 _I thought you meant everybody we like._

 _He's looking at you, say something. Be nice._

 _I hate you._

The voice behind her cleared his throat, rich in self importance. "My chair?" he repeated as if he expected her to leap up and apologize. That was enough of that. She whipped around, preparing to tell him exactly where he could shove it, and froze.

She had miscalculated exactly how close behind her he was standing, and in her hurry to flip him off, she had turned so that her face was only inches away from his torso. Which wouldn't have been such a big problem if there had been something, anything, covering that torso. Instead, she was now nose to nose, (or nose to stomach) with his bare midsection. And what a very fine section it was.

As she had predicted, his arms were clenched in frustration over his defined pectorals. And she was finding it hard to focus on his anger when his muscles were so very enticing. His abdominals tightened and she watched the skin ripple in fascination. And then he cleared his throat again. Blood rushed to her face as she craned her neck to meet his gaze, which was quite high above her. And just like that, the blood fled and she paled. He looked terrifying.

Somehow in her haze of remembering what an ass he was and then being dumbfounded by his lack of proper clothes, she had forgotten that here was a man who could rip her in half if he ever so chose. And he looked like he was thinking about it. The piercings, which had been intriguing in the sunlight, looked heartless in the cold light of the apartment. His mouth was half lifted in the same sneer she had gotten last time they had locked eyes but this time she was close enough to get a good look at those eyes.

They were red. Blood red. She felt her own blood freeze in her veins. The reader part of her brain that she could never quite shut off wondered if he was a vampire and his eyes were red from all the blood he drank.

Snapping herself out, she realized she was staring. Again. This was becoming a very bad and possibly life threatening habit. He had raised one eyebrow, as she had held his gaze and said nothing. God, he probably thought she was so stupid.

She huffed and turned away from him, finally reacting to his initial comment. "Your chair? I didn't see your name on it. Sit somewhere else." Wow, Levy. Didn't see your name on it? Nice. Are we 10 again?

Lisanna had covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laugh. When Levy looked at her incredulously, Lisanna gestured behind the armchair. Levy turned to see the face of the taller man and almost burst into laughter herself. He was just staring at her, eyes almost bugging out of his head. Obviously, no one had ever talked back to him like that before. Well he was going to have to get used to it.

Her mirth finally escaped and a small corner of her mouth quirked up. Instantly, a glare settled into his face again. His scowl was really quite impressive. She was sure he had made grown men run for cover with that thing before. Even she was starting to get the itch to hide behind something solid.

Lisanna, however, was immune to dark looks. "Good to see you again, Gajeel. How've you been?" she said cheerily, if not sincerely. Gajeel never stopped glaring. "You doing good? You look good," Lisanna baited, "by the way, why aren't you dressed?"

"We ain't friends, Mini Blondie" he growled. Without another word, he turned and stalked back the way he'd come. Levy could hear him muttering under his breath, though. She thought she heard the words "showering" and "girls at the god damn guys night".

She turned back to Lisanna, breathing a sigh of relief that the malignant aura behind her had finally dissipated. She sunk into the cushy chair, working hard on taking deep, cleansing breaths.

"He'll be back once he gets a shirt on," Lisanna interrupted her tranquil thoughts. Okay, not tranquil. Still thinking about Gajeel. But trying really hard to be tranquil. That had to count for something. Going to respond to her friend she found her mouth awkwardly caught between 'why does he have to come back' and 'why does he have to put a shirt on'. Levy wondered if it was really possible to be attracted to someone you disliked this much.

Deciding that neither of her answers were appropriate, especially because they were the ones intruding on guys night. She settled for, "we should probably be gone by the time he gets back."

She got up, expecting Lisanna to follow but Lisanna didn't budge. "Aw Mom," she whined, "I'm having fun!" Levy rolled her eyes and Lisanna chose her moment of distraction to strike. Lisanna took the pillow she had been leaning on and threw it at Levy, hitting the short girl straight in the face.

Once over her initial surprise, Levy grabbed the pillow and drew it back, prepared to hurl it in retaliation. It was at this very moment that Natsu finally turned around. The three boys had missed the entire exchange with Gajeel, but now they all looked up. Natsu's eyes fell on Levy's weapon and he instantly grasped the situation.

"Pillow Fight!" he yelled, like a war cry. The boys each dived for a different pillow. Lisanna rolled over the back of the couch in her haste to get away. She had obviously seen similar things go down before. One second later, Levy understood why. The point of a pillow fight was that no one could really get hurt because you can't hurt someone with a pillow. Once again the boys seem to be exceptions to the laws of nature. Levy swore she heard the pillows whistling as they sailed through the air at astronomical speeds. Quickly, she flattened herself against the back of the armchair.

There was no way to leave now, the entire apartment was a war zone. And Gajeel was bound to be back any second. Damn. Ugh, she hated this guy. How dare he be so rude to her when she had never been anything but nice to him. Why had he even been invited to this thing?

Speak of the devil, Gajeel, now wearing a shirt, entered from the hallway that must lead to the bedrooms. He was stomping angrily, having heard the latest ruckus from the living room. "What the fuck are you guys…" he was cut off as three pillows nailed him in the face one after the other. Levy threw hers too, just for good measure. It bounced harmlessly off his chest but she hoped the intent had been clear.

Gajeel ripped the pillows of his face, eyes sparking like the devil. And then a massive grin spread across his face. It was ten times scarier than his scowl had been. He looked like a creature from nightmares. He prowled into the room, armed with four different pillows and Levy started to think that throwing extra ammunition at him maybe wasn't her smartest move.

A high noise rang out, (it sounded like gihihi but that had to be wrong), as he launched himself at Natsu. Soon the brawl was in full force once again. Levy breathed out, they seemed to be ignoring Lisanna and her. Gajeel was just as crazy strong as the rest of them. Shaking off blows that should have killed a normal person. Apparently this was why he was invited here. He fit in perfectly.

Lisanna had poked her head out and gestured to Levy to head with her to the door. The two girls stayed low so as not to be a target, moving silently. Even Lisanna knew when to get out. The boys would never hurt them on purpose but they didn't always know their own strength. Finally the made it out.

"Have fun boys!" Lisanna hollered through the crack of the door before slamming it behind them. Instantly four loud thuds of pillows hitting wood echoed against the door.

The two girls took off, laughing so hard they had to hold their sides. They were excited to get back to their own party, one that took a little less brute force to survive. They talked animatedly and tried to brainstorm good excuses for why their faces were red and their clothes were disheveled. Neither thought that the other girls would buy, we were trapped in a pillow fight war zone and we're lucky to have escaped with their lives.

* * *

The trip back had taken less time than the trip there, since they weren't weighted down with heavy bags. The still couldn't take the short cut, this time because the sun had finished setting and it was fully dark outside.

When they got back, the fire pit was cold and the chairs around it were empty. Lisanna reasoned that everybody must have gone inside to get ready for bed. She felt a little bad, she hadn't meant to stay away that long. She hoped Lucy and Juvia had survived their time with Erza and Mira-nee. She knew from experience that the older girls could be a lot to handle if you weren't used to them.

She led Levy inside and up the spiral staircase towards the bedrooms. Looking back at the tiny bluenette, Lisanna suppressed a smile. Levy was dragging her feet and leaning heavily against the railing. She looked exhausted. Lisanna wondered how much of that was from their busy day and how much was from her encounter with the monstrous Gajeel.

She was intrigued. Most girls, if they had come face to face with Gajeel unexpectedly, especially an angry Gajeel, would have run for the hills. Or at least looked terrified. Lisanna had held her cool only because of her years of experience dealing with massive boys. And it helped that the heat of his glare had never been on her directly. Levy was in the spotlight of it. The tiny girl had been inches away from his fury and had merely pouted and told him to shove off.

Lisanna was very impressed. Levy had more metal than people assumed.

The girls finally reached Lisanna's bedroom. Lucy and Juvia had spread out their sleeping bags and were sitting on them. They had also been kind enough to lay out Levy and Lisanna's for them. Mira and Erza sat on a bench to the side, still sipping their drinks. When the younger girls went to sleep (or kicked them out), they would retire to Mira's room where they were sleeping.

Lisanna breathed a sigh of relief to see everyone still alive and in one piece, both physically and mentally. The group was chatting amicably, Lucy and Erza swapping stories. When they walked in, the conversation paused. Lucy turned to them with a delicate pout.

"You guys were supposed to be back like an hour ago," she accused. Lisanna saw Levy cringe and she felt a small twinge of guilt. She hadn't meant to leave her friends for so long, they had just lost track of time. She launched into her excuses.

"Well the walk there took longer than we thought, since we were carrying so much. And then the boys invited us to stay and eat a little. And then there was this arm wrestling competition and we had to stay to see who would win. And then there was this huge pillow fight and we got roped into it and we couldn't get away. And we got back here as fast as we could!" Lisanna said as fast as she could. She stopped at the end to take a deep breath and noticed the silence that had descended on the room.

Juvia had fallen back onto her pillow, her eyes rolling back in her head as she stared at the ceiling. Steam rose off her cheeks in a cloud. Lucy's hand was clamped over her mouth and Lisanna could see her fighting the blush that was slowly taking over her cheeks. Erza had already lost that fight and her whole face was red, her eyes staring in disbelief at the two girls. Mira remained her usual color (Lisanna knew from experience it was nearly impossible to make the beautiful blond blush) but her eyebrows had disappeared into her hairline.

Lisanna was bewildered. Nothing she had said should have provoked this response. She turned to Levy who had her head buried in her hands. Obviously, she knew what was up. Before Lisanna could ask, Lucy spoke up.

"S-so," she stuttered out, "there really was a naked pillow fight?" Oh. Lisanna understood their reactions. Uh oh. She had totally forgotten about the joke she made before she and Levy had left. Judging by Levy's embarrassment, she had not forgotten. Crap. Before she could figure out how to clear up the situation, Levy jumped in.

"No!" she practically screamed. "No! There was no naked pillow fight. Absolutely not. There was a small pillow fight but everyone was wearing clothes. Lots and lots of clothes."

"Well," said Lisanna, unable to resist, "almost everyone." She thought back to Gajeel without his shirt. He wasn't bad looking for such an asshole. She had said it offhandedly but was greatly rewarded.

Levy froze where she was standing with her hands raised to ward off her friends incorrect images. At Lisanna's words, she had turned as red as Juvia. Lisanna's eyebrows shot up. That was intriguing. Lisanna hadn't been able to see Levy's face when she had been looking at Gajeel but now she thought it had probably looked something like this. Interesting.

Levy desperately tried to tell the others that Lisanna was just joking, firmly responding to Lucy's question that she was most certainly not blushing. Lisanna took pity, and stayed quiet, not pushing the subject. There would be time for that later.

"Enough of that," said Erza brusquely, swiping lightly at her cheek like she could brush off the last hint of blush that lingered there. "We have something more important to talk about." The girls stopped their bickering and looked over to Erza. Levy and Lisanna took their seats on their sleeping bags.

"Lucy was just telling me that she used to play soccer." Erza stated. Lisanna was surprised. She had forgotten that Lucy used to play soccer. Levy had told her that their blond friend used to be very good but stopped playing when other interests took up more of her time.

"I'm getting some friends together in a few days to play a pickup game and I think you should all come. It'll be fun. Just a small sided game between friends." She continued.

Lisanna had known about the game but hadn't thought she was invited. She was thrilled, it sounded fun. She'd never played sports in school but she'd played enough pick up games that she was decent. The other girls were a little more skeptical but because Erza's offer had sounded less like an invitation and more like a summons, they all agreed to go.

Erza smiled happily. On that note, the girls decided it was time to get some sleep. They had all had a long day and were exhausted. Mira and Erza excused themselves from the room, wishing the girls a good night. They turned out the light on their way out.

"Good night everyone," Lisanna whispered. "Good night," three quiet voices whispered back together. Lisanna closed her eyes, snuggling deeper into her blanket.

* * *

The boys had finally tired themselves out. Natsu and Gray were back on the couch. Gray was dozing against the arm and Natsu had tipped his head over the back, breathing deeply. Elfman lay sideways over his chair, his head tipped back over one side and his legs dangling over the other. Gajeel was spread out in his own chair, legs spread to take up the most room possible.

He was glad that tiny girl and her annoying friend had left. Why had they been here anyway? This was supposed to be a guys night. Gajeel himself had only come with the promise of a good fight and he had not been disappointed. He grudgingly admitted that all these guys were tough enough to be decent adversaries. Especially that pink haired bastard. He was annoying as hell but man could he punch.

As if he could hear his thoughts, one of Natsu's eyes flickered open. He smiled, showing his canines. "That was fun!" he exclaimed. Gajeel just grunted. Natsu reached forward and grabbed one of the bags of snacks off the coffee table.

"Sure was nice of those two to bring us stuff," he said through a mouth full of food. Gajeel grunted again monotonously. He wasn't even really listening, his eyes having finally closed like the others. "Levy was really cool. Starting the pillow fight like that." Natsu continued. Gajeel's eyes opened again at the name. Levy, that was the little shrimp's name, right? She had started the pillow fight? Could she even lift a pillow, scoffed Gajeel in his head. She was practically miniature.

Whatever. He didn't care. Not like he'd ever see her again. He might hang out with these guys again sometime, he loved a good fight, but he had no interest in ever seeing any of those girls again. Mildly he noticed that Natsu was asking him a question.

"So you want to go? It's just a pick up game with a few people but it should be wild!" Natsu invited. Gajeel smiled. Anything this guy defined as wild, he definitely wanted to be there for. And if he was lucky, the whole game would just devolve into another fight. Knowing the way Natsu and that dark haired guy looked at each other, it seemed a very likely possibility.

"I'm there." Gajeel agreed. "Great!" Natsu said. The boys shared a brief smile before remembering how much they annoyed each other and turning away. Exhausted, they both closed their eyes to get some rest.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

 **Alright so I'm sorry this took a while. I couldn't get everything just how I wanted it. It's still not perfect and I rewrote the ending scene like 4 times but I hope you like it.** **I'll be putting myself on a schedule to hopefully get these up faster in the future.**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who followed, reviewed, and favorited! It really does make it all worth it.**

 **I am still yet to own Fairy Tail.**

* * *

Lucy had opened her front door to find Levy bouncing eagerly on her welcome mat. The smaller girl had decided to walk over to Lucy's so that they could walk to the field together. It wasn't a long way from Lucy's apartment and the walk took them less time than they thought it would. As such, they were the first ones there.

The field was the nicest in town, a turf set-up located next to the local high school. Bleachers lined both sides and a tall chain link fence surrounded the whole thing. Lucy and Levy leaned against the fence, next to the gate. Both of them felt weird going in by themselves, so they watched the parking lot, waiting for someone else to arrive.

Lucy tugged anxiously at her shirt. She hoped what she was wearing was okay. She'd spent an hour this morning digging through her closet for her old things. Luckily, she'd managed to find a pair of running shorts that still fit her. She thanked the universe that she hadn't gotten taller since middle school or the short shorts would have been indecently short. Unfortunately, her chest had gotten bigger and none of her tank tops or t-shirts from the old days had fit her. She'd finally settled on a loose white crop top that she didn't mind getting dirty or sweaty.

Next to her, Levy looked like she normally did in a cotton tank and everyday shorts. She had explained that she didn't intend to play today, just watch. She was neither the athletic nor the competitive type. Also, she had continued, she didn't own athletic clothes anyway. However, just in case she did decide to play, she had exchanged her normal sandals for a pair of sneakers.

Lucy looked up, squinting into the sun. The day was just on the verge of being too hot. On the field, the air wavered as the turf gave off excess heat. If Lucy had been planning this, she may have cancelled and waited for a nicer day. But the one who had planned it was not concerned about such a thing. Of course she was sort of insane. And speak of the devil, here she was now.

Erza jogged up to them excitedly. "Good morning girls!" she called out as she approached. Lucy suddenly felt underdressed. Erza's whole ensemble looked straight out of an athletic catalogue. Blue shorts and a matching blue jersey, accented with blue sweatbands on her wrists and forehead. A massive (coordinating) sports bag was thrown casual over her shoulder. Lucy wanted to smack her head into her hand but managed a wave instead. Only Erza could pull something this outrageous off. Her flaming hair, pulled into a ponytail, somehow made the whole thing seem elegant and natural.

Lucy saw Levy picking at her own clothes and knew the other girl was thinking along the same lines as her. Still, Levy also managed a polite greeting. When Erza reached them she didn't stop before throwing the gates open like she owned the place. She beckoned the girls to follow as she jogged onto the field. Apparently Erza didn't walk anywhere when running would get her there faster. Lucy and Levy followed slower. Erza dumped her stuff onto one of the benches on the side of the field before beginning an intricate stretching and warm up regimen that the girls couldn't hope to follow.

A call made them turn around. Lisanna and Mira were coming through the gate. Lucy was relieved to see Lisanna dressed similarly to herself. Mira, however, was wearing another sundress. This one was a light blue that brought out her stunning eyes. "Mira, you don't intend to play?" Levy asked. Mira just laughed. "No, this isn't really my kind of thing. I'm the designated scorekeeper." "Do you mind if I join you? I don't really want to play either." "It would be lovely to have the company."

Behind the white haired girls was their brother. Even having seen him before, Lucy was still taken aback by how huge he was. He was carrying two water jugs that were each easily the size of Levy. He had one over each shoulder. When he got to them, he carefully deposited the jugs on the bench. He smiled at the girls already gathered. He had a huge smile that made Lucy relax a bit. She knew what Lisanna said about her brother was true. He was just a huge teddy bear at heart. "Morning ladies!" he boomed and Lucy greeted him back. Erza was too busy preparing to notice any of the arrivals.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy noticed Levy subtly approach the jugs on the bench. Obviously trying not to be noticed, she wrapped her arms around the cylinder, her arms not even touching around the back, and tried to lift it. Though her arms strained and her face got red, she couldn't even separate it from the bench. Scowling, she whacked the top of it. Lucy tried to hide her snicker behind her hand, but Levy noticed it anyway, turning her scowl on her best friend.

Before Lucy could apologize for laughing at her friend's attempts, something crashed into her. Suddenly she was horizontal, all the breath knocked out of her. She took deep breaths to try and restore some oxygen to her brain. When she opened her eyes, she was met with dark eyes just inches away from her own. She shrieked and tried to scurry backwards but was stopped by the weigh on top of her. She quickly realized that the weight and the eyes belonged to the excited boy from the other day.

Natsu was lying on top of her, having greeted her in the same way he had greeted Lisanna at the pool party. His wide smile only increased at her unamused look. He jumped up, hauling her to her feet by her shoulders and then bounding off before she could say anything. It didn't matter, she was speechless anyway. She was never going to get used to that boy.

"Looks like someone's fond of you," a lilting voice teased from behind her. She turned to see Lisanna standing there, having watched the whole thing. Lucy ignored her, wiping turf pellets off her shirt briskly. Lisanna smirked but dropped her good natured ribbing. When Lucy finally looked back up, she saw that two boys had arrived with Natsu.

One was Gray, who she knew would be here. He gave her a small nod of greeting before jumping to stop Natsu who was about to greet Erza. Gray knew from experience that Erza was not to be disturbed while she warmed up. The other guy was Elfman's rude friend from the other day. Lucy's lip curled slightly. Why was he here? Hearing a grumpy snort from next to her, she saw Levy's eyes were trained in the same place Lucy's had been. Obviously she felt similarly about the rude guy.

Mira had seated herself on the bleachers, a scoreboard siting next to her so she could flip the numbers. Erza finally finished her routine and headed over to the little group gathered around the bench. "Is everyone here?" Gray asked, "We should start picking teams." Lucy was not excited to see where she fell in that pecking order. Never mind. She knew where she was. Dead last. And looking from Erza to the incredibly buff boys, she couldn't really be angry about it. If she was picking, she'd pick her last.

"Make sure not to include me," Levy put in, "I'm just here to watch the show." Erza looked scandalized. "You don't want to play?" she asked, completely confused as to why someone wouldn't want to compete in something this fun. Gray also had a small frown, "Now are teams are uneven." "That's okay!" Natsu bragged, "I can take you all on solo." They all rolled their eyes, not doubting that the energetic boy would be happy to try.

"Don't worry Gray. Juvia should be coming too. That'll even the teams out." Lisanna said. The color drained out of Gray's face. "Oh, Juvia's coming. That's… great." he said unconvincingly. Just on cue, their last person arrived.

Juvia rushed onto the field, blushing both from exertion and embarrassment. She threw herself into a deep bow as she reached the group. "Juvia is so embarrassed. Please forgive her tardiness," she rushed out. She wore leggings and a loose shirt, a backpack thrown over her shoulder. Her blue hair hung in a curtain, covering her face as she bowed.

"Don't worry," Lisanna reassured, "we haven't even picked teams yet." Juvia relaxed a bit, straightening and dropping her bag on the edge of the field. Erza looked around the circle at the players. "Eight people. Why don't we play guys versus girls?" The guys looked around the circle and agreed. "That seems fair," Gray agreed. Lucy was horrified. That did not seem fair to her. These guys were monsters. She had seen them in action. They would destroy her. She would be lucky if her limbs were still attached at the end of the game.

There was some grumbling, mostly from Natsu (I can take on everyone by myself) and Juvia (Juvia wanted to be on Gray-sama's team). The only person who looked how Lucy felt was Gajeel. He was looking at everyone like this was a very elaborate joke and he didn't understand the punchline. "What are you talking about, fair?! Am I looking at the same people as you guys?" he demanded.

Lucy was offended, but couldn't help but agree. Yeah's she'd been pretty good once but that was a long time ago and these guys were monsters. Elfman was so big that she was pretty sure if he stood in the goal, there wouldn't be space to score around him. Gray interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah, it's fair. We have us, and they have Erza," he pointed out like it was obvious. Oh right. Lucy had forgotten that of all the monsters currently standing on the field, Erza was queen. Some of the stories that Erza had told her at the sleepover had given her chills and she had vowed to never, ever get on Erza's bad side. At Gray's comment, Erza had merely inclined her head, too polite to agree out loud and too honest to disagree.

"Then it is decided," Elfman announced, "come Men!" He turned, leading his team to one side. Lucy could hear the capital letter in the way he said 'men'. Erza immediately turned the other way, pulling a soccer ball out of the black hole of her bag. No one argued her right to start with the ball. Levy skipped over to where Mira was sitting, plopping down next to her.

Lucy followed Erza along with Juvia and Lisanna. She was beginning to feel regret flooding her veins as she looked over to see who they were up against. Why had she ever agreed to this? "Lucy, you will be our forward. Juvia, you and I will be midfield. Lisanna, defense." Erza laid down the law, no room for argument. Oh right, that's why she agreed. Because when Erza spoke, you complied. She moved up to be a forward.

* * *

Levy was sitting next to Mira, watching the game eagerly. She had had to hold herself back from laughing when Lu-chan had walked onto the field. She had looked like she was walking to the gallows. Levy couldn't really blame her though. She had seen those guys fight and there was no way she would want to play against even one of them, god forbid all of them.

Elfman was their defender, standing like a brick wall with his arms loosely crossed. Gajeel, looking like the devil himself and radiating ill intent, was on the right. Gray was cooly detached on the left, kicking at the turf while he waited for the game to start. And Natsu was the forward, eyes brimming with a competitive fire. He stood just across the midline from Lucy.

Knowing Lucy as well as she did, Levy could practically read her mind. Right now, she was trying to figure out if she could back away any more from Natsu without Erza killing her. She chose Natsu as the lesser of two evils, and held her ground.

Mira was humming happily as Erza yelled out the start of the game. It took off instantly. Levy stared, hooked. It was fast paced and exciting. If sports on tv were this interesting, she might even put down her book to watch some occasionally.

Levy could barely keep up. Erza had the ball, then Natsu, then Erza again, now to Lucy, who somehow dodged past Gray. Lucy really was good, Levy thought. She was falling back into the rhythm of her old playing days easily.

A clinking sound distracted her. She looked down next to her on the bleachers. A small pile of quarters had appeared next to her. What the heck? There was another pile next to Mira. Mira didn't look at her though, eyes still following the game. She gave no sign of acknowledgement.

Levy decided to ignore it. She looked back up. Somehow Natsu had the ball, and was racing towards the girl's goal. "One quarter, Natsu scores," said a sweet voice next to Levy. She could barely hear it over the raucous game that was being played out before her. She didn't respond, still confused. Erza knocked Natsu aside, and Lisanna swiped the ball away, passing it up to Juvia.

"Ah well," Mira sighed. Without looking, she took one quarter off her pile and added it to Levy's. Levy's eyebrows shot up. It was gambling! Mira wasn't nearly as sweet as she looked. Just then, Mira turned and met her eyes, smiling sweetly. "I've watched a lot of these games, Levy. Have to keep it interesting somehow. Normally my friend Cana sits with me, she's a big gambler." Mira turned back to the game.

Levy's surprise morphed into thoughtfulness. It seemed a little unethical to bet on her friends like this. Then again, it would make the game more interesting. And then the small competitive part of her that she liked to pretend didn't exist made itself known. This could be fun. Just because she wasn't playing soccer didn't mean she couldn't win something today.

"One quarter, Lucy loses the ball to Gajeel" Levy murmured so the people on the field couldn't hear her. It happened as she called it, Lucy shrinking back from Gajeel and losing the ball in the process. Without looking, as Mira had done, she took one of Mira's coins and added it to her pile. "Not a word to the others," Mira whispered, the only acknowledgment of Levy's participation in her slightly twisted game. "Agreed," Levy confirmed, smiling.

And so the game passed: teams trading possession and the score staying just about even as it rose. And the whole time, Mira and Levy traded bets out of the corner of their mouths. Some general and some oddly specific.

Mira: "Lucy scores around Elfman" The shot arcs high into the corner but Elfman gets his fingertips on it and tips it over the top. (Erza's special small sided rules say that defenders are allowed to use their hands inside the penalty box like goalies) Point Levy

Levy: "Juvia gives up the ball to Gray" Juvia stops dead as Gray runs towards her, but Gray is so concerned about running into her that he stops too, giving Erza a chance to take the ball and recover the play. Point Mira

Mira: "Erza makes Juvia switch sides with her because she can't go up against Gray without dropping the ball" With much arm waving on Erza's part and much blushing on Juvia's, Juvia and Erza switch sides. Shockingly, Juvia looks perfectly calm going up against Gajeel. Point Mira

Levy: "Gajeel misses the shot" 'SHIT!' Gajeel yells as his shot swerves wide, missing the goal. Point Levy

Mira: "Natsu outplays Lisanna" Natsu fakes left to dive right but Lisanna gets a foot through his lunge and pokes the ball away. Natsu barely realizes what happened and spends a good few seconds looking confused. Point Levy

Levy: "Gajeel misses the shot again" This time the shot is perfect, slamming into the net. Gajeel pumps his arms 'Fuck yeah!' Erza mutters a derogatory comment on his dirty mouth. Point Mira

Mira: "Natsu and Gajeel get distracted fighting each other and forget about the game" Yelled comments escalate to finger pointing and then shoving. Soon enough, all all out brawl breaks out between the two as Erza dribbles past them. Gray yells at them before joining the fight himself. A time out is called until the fight is resolved. Point Mira

Levy: "Erza tries to shoulder charge Elfman but can't move him" Erza shoulder charges Elfman as predicted. Elfman is sent to the ground, plowing a trench through the turf. Levy's jaw detaches from her face as it hits the ground. Point Mira

Mira: "Juvia makes the shot" Juvia dodges under Elfman's arm to have a one on one with the open goal. Her shot is perfect. She blushes crimson as her team cheers her on. Point Mira

Levy: "Lisanna takes the ball away from Gray" Both move so quickly, it's difficult to follow the ball. Eventually, Lisanna slips the ball away and twists to spin around him on the outside, barely keeping the ball in bounds. Lisanna really was a stunning defender. Point Levy

Mira: "Gray strips"

Wait what?

Levy turned to Mira in shock, making eye contact for the first time since they'd started the game. Mira said nothing, standing by her bet. Levy followed her gaze to Gray. He was pacing along the edge of the field, looking annoyed. Levy blinked and when she opened her eyes again, his clothes were gone and he was standing in only a pair of dark blue compression shorts.

Point Mira

Levy rubbed her eyes. That was impossible. Her eyes had been closed for one second, maybe less. There was no way someone could get all of their clothes off so quickly. When she opened her eyes again, he was in the same state of undress, now stalking across the field to yell at Natsu.

The sound of coins clinking brought her back to her senses. She wanted to ask but she couldn't find the words. "How…so quickly…what?" her words were an incoherent stream. Mira laughed. "People do tend to have that reaction. Gray strips when he gets stressed, it's an old habit." "How does one develop a habit like that?" Levy asked, unable to fight her curiosity. "Hmm," Mira hummed lightly, "I've never asked." From the look on her face, Levy would guess that she had asked, many times, but never received a satisfactory answer.

On the field, she watched Lucy stare openmouthed as Gray walked across the field. She and Juvia had become frozen in place, the first to never before witness Gray's strange habit. Lucy looked horrified, Juvia was drooling.

Gray didn't even notice as he and Natsu got into a heated argument. After a minute, Lisanna decided to intervene. "Gray, your clothes!" she yelled across the field. Gray stopped in the middle of his fight and looked down at himself. "Shit!" he exclaimed, "why does this always happen to me?" He looked up to see Lisanna rolling on the ground laughing, so amused by the other two girls' reactions.

On the other side of the field, the game continued on. Erza and Elfman were fighting for the ball, completely unfazed by Gray's old habit. Elfman finally won a decent shot at the ball and bombed it across the field. The ball sailed through the air, heading straight for Juvia. Gray and Natsu noticed at the same moment but had no time to do anything about it. "Juvia, duck!" Gray managed to call, but Juvia was too distracted to notice.

The ball slammed into her temple, and she dropped instantly. Lucy and Lisanna both immediately broke out of their individual reveries to run to the girl, Natsu and Gray right on their heels. The kneeled around her, waiting anxiously for her to open her eyes. She finally did, her eyes spinning but seeming mostly unharmed.

"Juvia, are you alright?" Lucy asked quickly. "The force of Gray-sama's beauty is astounding." Juvia murmured in awe, her spinning eyes quickly morphing into hearts. Gray winced and took a quick step back, out of her line of sight. Lisanna pushed the original inquiry though. "No, Juvia you got hit in the head with the ball, how are you feeling?"

Juvia blushed, realizing suddenly that her fall had attracted quite a crowd. Natsu sat behind her, propping up her shoulders. Lucy and Lisanna were on either side, staring down at her to make sure she was alright. Gray was hovering nearby, concerned for her but also not wanting to cause another scene since he still lacked proper clothing. Erza and Elfman were jogging over, only just realizing what had happened. Only Gajeel was ignoring the commotion, looking bored.

"Juvia is fine," she cried out, jumping to her feet. She brushed herself off and smiled to everyone to reassure them. However, when she tried to take a step she stumbled and would've face planted into the ground if not for Gray's excellent reflexes. He caught her across the shoulders and gently lowered her back to the ground.

"I think she has a concussion," he stated, addressing his concern to Erza who had stepped forward and was feeling gently around the spot where the ball had hit. "You might be right," Erza conceded slowly, "either way, she should sit out the rest of the game." Juvia, conscious again, pouted sadly. "Juvia does not want to sit out the game," she complained miserably, "Juvia was having fun."

Erza's eyes narrowed, ready to give the stubborn girl a piece of her mind and a lecture on personal safety, but Lisanna intervened. Ever the mediator, she laid a hand on Erza's arm telling her to back down and turned to reason with Juvia. "Juvia," she said seriously, "you could be quite injured. You don't have to leave but you can't keep playing." Juvia was prepared to argue but Lisanna continued, a manipulative grin sliding across her face. "How about this? You agree to sit on the side lines and Gray will be the one to carry you over to the bleachers," Lisanna suggested, "then you can cheer him on from the sidelines for the rest of the game."

Juvia breathing had completely stopped and she looked up at Gray with shining eyes. "You would carry Juvia while she is incapacitated?" she asked gleefully. Gray shot Lisanna a glare that said he would not forget about this any time soon. When he met Juvia's heartfelt gaze, a light blush dusted his cheeks and he cleared his throat. "Uh yeah, sure. I guess I can carry you," he mumbled awkwardly. Juvia ignored his tone and beamed at him.

He solidified his grip on her shoulders and wove his other arm under her knees. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest, though whether from dizziness or simply a desire to be close to him, no one could tell.

When Levy and Mira saw Gray and Juvia headed towards them across the field, they rushed out to meet them. They hadn't been able to tell what had happened from their distance. Gray just jerked his head towards the big group still standing around when Levy and Mira peppered him with questions. They hurried over to where everyone was standing.

"Lu-chan, what happened?" Levy gasped out. "Juvia got hit in the head with the ball because she was… distracted. She's going to be fine." Lucy reassured. Now that they knew the pretty bluenette would be okay, Levy and Lisanna were having similar reactions. Both girls had hands over their mouths trying to hide their giggles to maintain the serious atmosphere.

"Guess Gray's really is a knockout," Lisanna whispered under her breath to Levy. Levy murmured back gravely, "Love can be such a headache." Both girls lost their fight against their amusement and started holding their sides as they cracked up. Erza looked disapproving and was about to reprimand them when Gajeel interrupted.

He'd finally sauntered over to the group. "Yeah yeah so she's gonna be fine, great. We've got a bigger problem," he grumbled. Everyone turned to him. "The teams are uneven now." he stated seriously.

Once everyone was over their initial annoyance at Gajeel's skewed priorities, Erza spoke up. "Not to worry about it, Mira can play," she said confidently, "it'll be just like old times, right Mira?" "No!" Elfman practically screeched, "There is no way I'm playing against Nee-san." Gajeel sneered, "seriously, you're scared of your own sister?" "You should be too," said Lisanna honestly. Mira just smiled sweetly. "No need to worry Elfman," she reassured, "my sports days are long behind me. I'm much happier just watching."

"That's fine Mira," Lucy said, "Levy can fill in." Levy whipped her head around to glare at Lucy already shaking her head. "No way!" she announced firmly. She was largely ignored. "Perfect," Mira said, "I'll go back and take care of Juvia." Levy looked over to see Gray trying to convince Juvia to let go of him. She suspected that the reason Mira was hurrying back so fast was simply to spy on the pair.

Everyone else had also moved on and accepted that Levy would play. She shot a glare at Lucy who shrugged apologetically. The boys ran back to their side and the game poised to resume at the center of the field. Levy was still standing in the place, not knowing what to do. "Oh Levy," Erza called, "you're on the left, covering Gajeel." Levy was left gaping as Erza ran off, leaving no room for complaint. Gajeel was standing just on his side of the center line, cracking his knuckles at no one in particular. Levy swallowed audibly.

She jogged over to her side, trying to go unnoticed by Gajeel. Unfortunately, in a four on four game, it was hard to be inconspicuous. He met her eyes for moment before clicking his tongue and rolling his eyes. She was both annoyed by his dismissal of her and thankful that there had been no confrontation or, god forbid, that terrifying grin of his.

Gray had finally extracted himself from Juvia, and taken his place back on the field. Erza started calling out a countdown until the game would resume. Levy took a deep breath, trying to steel herself. She vowed to try her best and not be intimidated by her opponent. She wasn't sure it would work, but she vowed to try.

* * *

Natsu was having a blast. The game was wild and intense and his blood was racing. Lucy was shockingly good. Natsu couldn't imagine why she didn't love sports. She was obviously talented and games were so fun! After Juvia and Levy had switched, the girls had lagged for a little bit, adjusting to the new player.

Juvia played a graceful game, all endless endurance and long runs up the side. Levy wasn't quite as fast but she played a smarter game. She didn't run with every play but she was in position when they needed her. Strategically, the left was a good spot for her.

The game continued, time slipping away as the two teams traded the ball back and forth. Eventually, Erza called a water break. Natsu wasn't really tired but he didn't mind taking a quick break. He was kinda thirsty.

He jogged to the side of the field with the others. He grabbed his water and threw himself down on the bench next to Lucy. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Juvia swaying in her seat. Her eyes were rolling in her head and she looked sick. He jumped up, shocked no one else had noticed that something was wrong.

"Luce!" he alerted his friend, "Something's wrong with Juvia!" Lucy swung around, concerned. But when she saw Juvia, she relaxed. Her eyes flickered between Juvia and the stripper, who was pouring some water on his head. She huffed and rolled her eyes, sitting back down. "Yeah, something's wrong with her alright," she muttered lightly.

She was such a weirdo. Natsu didn't understand at all, but if Lucy wasn't worried then there was no reason for him to be. He sat back down. For a minute, neither of them spoke, and he watched Erza talk strategy with Lisanna. He wondered if he could listen in if he made up an excuse to get closer. He probably shouldn't, Erza would kill him if she realized what he was doing. He was distracted from his thoughts by Lucy.

"So, what was that thing about Mira playing with us? She doesn't seem like the type." Lucy asked curiously. Natsu grinned, reminded that Lucy had only known the Strauss siblings for a year.

"Back when she was in high school, Mira used to play sports. She and Erza had this huge rivalry. Mira was captain of the soccer team and Erza was captain of the field hockey team. They were really intense, used to get into fights all the time. Watching them play was insane. Mira even had a nickname. They called her the demon," Natsu explained.

Lucy's mouth hung open. "B-but, but…this Mira?" she stuttered out. Natsu nodded. Lucy looked back and forth between Erza and Mira, close friends and as different as night and day. Deciding that she was just going to hurt her head trying to figure out their pasts, she shook head and sighed.

Erza clapped her hands loudly. "Alright guys! Let's start getting back out there!" she called out before beginning a stretching regiment as she walked onto the field. Lisanna approached Gray with a change of clothes, "Gray, you want to put something back on?" Natsu heard a small whimper from Juvia and he wondered if Lucy was right that her head was okay. Gray waved off Lisanna, "nah, it's freaking hot out here. I would've taken my shirt off anyway."

Natsu had to concede the point, as much as he hated agreeing with that guy. It was even hotter on the field than it was everywhere else and after playing for so long, his shirt was starting to stick to his back. "I hate to agree with the stripper but for once he's right," Natsu said. He tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the bench.

Lucy was staring at him weirdly and he wondered if something was stuck to him. "Do I have something on me?" he asked her. He looked down but couldn't find any fuzz or anything. When he looked back up she was red but looking away firmly. He shrugged and turned back to the group.

Elfman and Gajeel had agreed with him and they both took their shirts off as well, casually throwing them aside. "You boys have the right idea," Lisanna agreed. She peeled off her shirt, leaving her standing in just her sports bra and shorts. She followed behind Elfman and Gajeel as they got back in position on the field. Natsu turned to tell Lucy to hurry up, (he knew from experience that Erza was not to be kept waiting), but she was frozen to the spot. He tried to place the expression on her face. Her eyes followed Lisanna across the field. She must be jealous because Lisanna got to cool off a bit, Natsu thought.

"Why don't you take your shirt off, Luce?" he suggested. She leapt like she'd been electrified. "Pervert!" she shouted at him, looking scandalized. Lucy was such a weirdo, Natsu thought, shaking his head confusedly. He'd already seen her in her bikini, she couldn't possibly be wearing less than that. Shrugging it off, he jogged onto the field and after a second, she followed.

* * *

Lisanna had been just slow enough getting onto the field that she had caught the exchange between Natsu and Lucy. She was laughing so hard it was hard to stay upright. She didn't know how she could go about explaining to Lucy that this guy's mind was very straightforward and he didn't understand when he said things he shouldn't.

Today was just one amusement after another. Levy and Gajeel were on her left, trying to play the most no-contact game of soccer she had ever seen. She bit back a snicker as the two had another awkward encounter. They both went for the ball but when their elbows touched, Levy jumped back like she'd been shot. Gajeel growled something at her under his breath and Levy's embarrassment turned into a deep scowl. Lisanna wondered what he'd said.

Lucy was still looking at her in horror. Lisanna felt like one of the girls in the 20s with bobbed hair and a short skirt being judged by the old fashioned women before her. She'd known these guys forever and her sports bra covered more than her bathing suit anyway. She waved at Lucy who realized she was staring and whipped her gaze away.

The game took off again. They played for another half hour before Erza called an ending. The game was so close that eventually they'd decided to play next goal wins. The girls had somehow pulled it off and Lisanna was replaying it over and over in her head, promising to rub it in Natsu's face forever. It was a beautiful goal.

Levy had somehow snatched the ball away from Gajeel and tapped it over to Erza who bombed it up the field. Lucy had received it and out done Elfman and Gray for a shot on goal. Landing it squarely in the corner, a huge cheer had gone up. Erza had scooped up Lucy onto her shoulder and was parading around the field.

Natsu was yelling furiously, trying to call foul and offsides and a million other things that wouldn't stick. Gray and Elfman were graceful in defeat, shaking hands and congratulating Lucy on her goal. Gajeel was standing on the side, confused and still trying to figure out how someone so small and so afraid of him had managed to steal the ball away. Lisanna watched as he dragged a hand over his face. Obviously, his reasoning had finally made it to the part where he was never going to be able to live this down.

Levy, for her part, looked very pleased, if a little stunned, at her own actions. Mira and Juvia clapped and cheered. Though Juvia looked very conflicted about whether to cheer for the team she had been on or her beloved Gray. She settled for just clapping and smiling at everyone.

They stood around and chatted for a little longer, reminiscing about some of the best plays. But it was getting kinda late and they all had to get home. Not to mention how tired everyone was. Lisanna waved goodbye to her friends and followed Mira and Elfman to their car.

She was glad everyone had had such a good time.

* * *

Levy took a deep breath of fresh air and held it, appreciating the stillness of the day. Erza had offered her a ride home but she had politely declined. On days like this, she liked to walk everywhere. The soccer game had been fun but she was happy for the quiet that never seemed to exist with that group. She hummed lightly as she walked. Reaching the edge of the road she took a quick look around and started to cross. Her mind was distracted, running through the events of the day while her eyes followed the progress of a lazy cloud across the sky.

And so she had no warning when a car whipped around the blind corner. Time froze as she turned. The man behind the wheel saw her the same moment she saw him, both helpless to change the course of events. The car's breaks would be ineffective at such high speed and short distance and Levy, for her part, was frozen. Even if she hadn't been, there was no time. She would never make it clear.

She closed her eyes tightly, bracing her body for the imminent collision. But before the metal could rip into her, something heavy crashed into her side. Instinctively, she tucked herself into a tiny ball, lessening the exposed skin that the pavement could tear through. She crashed to the ground, all the breath being violently forced out of her lungs by the impact. But there was very little pain. She had landed on something solid, but whatever it was was much softer than the ground and though she slid slightly, nothing tore at her skin.

The whole thing was over in a moment. Her oxygen was gone and her head spun. The first thought to enter Levy's head was that she wasn't nearly as dead as she expected to be. But as her lungs started to ache, it was quickly followed by the thought of how ironic it would be if she was saved from a fatal car crash just to die from asphyxiation because she forgot how to breathe. The thought was human enough to wake up the rest of her body. She gasped, air filling her desperate lungs. Slowly, her senses woke up and she tried to make sense of her near death experience. It was fuzzy and confusing.

Something had crashed into her. A person. Someone had thrown themselves on her to get her out of the way of the car. She could feel their arms around her waist holding her in place. She was lying on top of them, tucked into their chest. She could feel it rise and fall as the person below her tried to catch their breath. Not only had they saved her from the car, they had taken the collision with the ground too.

Finally, the arms released their grip on her and she rolled lightly to the ground. Now that she was listening, she could hear a steady stream of profanity from her rescuer. She sat up, holding her head in her hands as a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her. When the spots in front of her eyes dissipated, she turned to thank the person who had saved her.

Her breath stopped, again. Lying on the ground was the very last person she had ever expected to see there. And yet there he was, panting up at the sky and releasing indistinct curses with each exhale. Gravel pitted his cheek and his coarse hair splayed out over the curb. Maybe this was a dream, she thought, wondering if maybe she hadn't hit her head a bit harder than she thought. Maybe this whole thing was actually just some sort of very strange and vivid coma dream from after she'd been hit by the car.

Something on the ground caught her eye. A spot of red was catching the sun. She reached out to it, still dazed. Her fingers scraped across the ground. The road was hot and sharp and the spot was dark and wet. The sensations burned against her skin as her sense of touch woke up. The last of the fog in her head vanished, and with it, any idea that her situation was anything less than a startling reality. She started as she realized that the red on the road was blood. She searched for a pain that would explain it but came away with nothing. She had no worse injuries than her loopy brain and the general ache of being tackled. And that's when she realized it was his.

He must have made the first contact with the ground with his shoulder and the asphalt had torn through him. His shoulder was all ripped up, blood dripping and staining the street. Blood and sweat traced the curves in his biceps, sticking to his dark skin.

And all this confirmed what she had been trying to wrap her head around in the first place. The identity of her savior. For at this point there was no longer any way for her to deny it.

Gajeel Redfox lay on the ground, his breathing slowly evening out. He had saved her. He had thrown himself in front of a car for her. She watched, entranced, as he pushed himself up off the ground. When he was sitting up, he looked over at her for the first time. His eyes were completely, carefully neutral.

"You hurt?" he managed to grunt. She would never know how someone who had just barely dodged a car crash and was still dripping blood managed to sound so casual. Not trusting her voice to function correctly, she merely shook her head. He gave her a thorough once over, his careful examination the only indication of care or concern on his part. She almost blushed as his eyes traced the lines of her body and thanked her still malfunctioning brain for the fact that she was too addled to be properly embarrassed.

Finally he nodded, apparently satisfied that she really was fine. He stood up, taking a quick look at his shoulder before making a noise of light annoyance. Shrugging off the injury, he started walking away.

That's when she noticed the car. The car that had almost hit her had swerved to the side of the road and hit the curb. A small plume of smoke rose from the tires and her nose wrinkled as she recognized the sickening stench of burning rubber. The driver had just managed to push open his door. He was gingerly touching his forehead, having probably bashed it on the steering wheel in the sudden stop.

Gajeel stalked over to him. As the man moved to stand, Gajeel shoved him back down. Hard. The man looked ready to retaliate and opened his mouth to complain but then he met Gajeel's eyes.

Levy could only see Gajeel's back from where she sat but she could see the man. She watched the anger dissipate from his face, replaced with wide eyed fear. His mouth still hung open, stunned. Gajeel glared until he was satisfied. He turned, and Levy could see the ugly grimace twisting his lips.

"Be more careful, asshole." he growled at the stuttering man in the car. And then he was gone. He turned and trudged away. Just kept walking. Levy kept waiting for him to look back, but he didn't. Even after he had turned the corner, Levy just kept staring down the street, like she was waiting for something. Her brain was caught in some snare she couldn't get out of. Logically, she knew she should get up, get home, call someone. But irrationally, she just wanted to sit there and wait. She didn't even know what she was waiting for.

Some time later, Erza arrived on the scene. She checked Levy for injuries, talked to an officer who had appeared to deal with the crash, and gave the driver a lecture that had him shaking in his boots. Through all of it, Levy sat on the ground, eyes unfocused and fingers tracing the stones on the ground that were wet and warm with his blood. She knew it was macabre but it was the only thing she had to assure herself that it hadn't been a dream.

After all the bureaucracy was taken care of, (how did Erza do that so fast), Levy was loaded into the backseat of a car. Erza got in the driver seat and started to drive her home. Levy leaned her head against the cool glass and watched the trees and houses slip past. She was halfway home when her eyes snapped open and she realized something important.

She had never said thank you.


End file.
